How Do Internships Prepare Students for the Real World?
For some recent college graduates, making the transition form the classroom to the workplace is a breeze. They lucked out and found good jobs with good companies, and all is right with the world. Others are not so fortunate. Why do some fair better than others? Well, smart choices is one reason, luck another. A carefully chosen internship can make all the difference in the world.
Katie Layous, internship coordinator at the Art Institute of California San Francisco, thinks "internships help students test the waters with companies. A student might think an organization works on way, but in reality it's completely different than they thought."
"A good internship is a preview of professional level work experience," said David Kowalczyk, co-director of Career Services at Assumption College. When looking for a quality internship the Career Services office is the best place to start. Most, if not indeed all, college and university campuses have one. Get to know your Career Services advisors in addition to talking to friends and classmates who have recently completed internships.
Alicia King, public relations coordinator for Clarke/Eric Mower and Associates (Clarke/EMA), and a 2007 graduate of the University of Florida in Gainesville, speaks first hand about the value of doing internships. "Interning with as many companies as possible is ideal. I interned with an agency and a non-profit organization. It allowed me to get a feel for different working environments and pinpoint which aspects appealed most to me. It also provided valuable experience that can't be taught in any classroom," she said.
Brian Saunders, Junior Account Executive with Alpaytac - and an Alpaytac intern until March 2008 - would agree. "As valuable as education is," he said, "there is no substitute for experience." Saunders advises students to "choose companies where they will actively contribute to projects that have merit in the business world." That may become easier as more and more companies realize that interns can do more than support regular employees, they can actually contribute their ideas, their energy, and the knowledge they've gained in their classrooms.
Companies like Scottrade are already aware of this. Intern Recruiter Chrissy Glover had this to say, "At Scottrade, interns in our branch offices get to interact one-on-one with customers to gain problem solving and customer skills, which cannot really be accomplished in the classroom." And Scottrade is just one example. CollegeRecruiter.com recently featured a series of videos by RSM McGladrey that allow visitors to their site to get an insider's view of some of the things McGladrey interns experience.
There's more to internships than just earning class credits or supporting regular company employees. As our experts agreed, internships teach students what going to work every day is really like. Learning to interact with people from various backgrounds, understanding company policies, and how they can put their education into practice are all key things for students to consider during their internships. Opportunities to network and make valuable professional contacts shouldn't be discounted, either.
Even if a particular company isn't a good fit, there may be some people who can make introductions or provide information that the student can then use to either find a future internship or an entry-level job after graduation.
Keyla Cabret, University Relations Supervisor for Aflac summed up the benefits of doing internships the best. Her top five reasons why students should do internships are:
- "Stay abreast of trends in their chosen career field
- Obtain actual work experience
- Gain perspective on the company and information on their future career
- Build business relationships
- Expand on job skills"
It may be too late to get a summer internship, but it's not too late to start preparing for the fall or next spring and summer. The more internships a student has under his belt by the time he graduates, the more options he has. Since so many companies today choose to hire their best interns (Alicia King interned with Clarke/EMA before being hired), it would behoove any student hoping to land a great entry-level job after graduation to start looking for a great internship first.
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